This Time Imperfect
by Shinigami709
Summary: Ryou has had enough of Bakura's abuse. Song fic to the AFI song of the same name. Not sure about the rating. Self Injury, Suicide, abuse are the only warnings. R&R!


This Time Imperfect  
  
Well, I was on a roll today. I got tow different stories written. I'm back to my song-fics in this one. This is my first time with Ryou, so don't expect it to be too good.  
  
Warnings: Ryou-death, Self Injury/Suicide, abuse. (My god, why did I write this?)  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not Yu-Gi-Oh!, not AFI, their album Sing the Sorrow, or the hidden track on it called "This Time Imperfect". That all belongs to AFI and the respective companies.  
  
~song lyrics~ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
~I cannot leave here, I cannot stay. Forever haunted, more than afraid. Asphyxiate on words I would say. I'm drawn to a blackened sky as I turn blue.~  
  
Ryou was staring at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. Looking back at him was a thin, frail-looking, silver haired teen who appeared not to have slept for several days.  
  
"I can't deal with him anymore. I can't take the constant abuse. It has to end soon." He thought.  
  
Sure he had friends who'd listen to him, but Bakura wouldn't allow it. Especially Yugi, the one person Ryou knew would understand him the most. Reaching in the small medicine cabinet, he brought out a packet of razor blades. Slowly he removed one and stared at it with a reverence. For the last few years, this had become Ryou's out, his addiction, his "dirty little secret".  
  
~There are no flowers, no, not this time. There will be no angels gracing the lines, Just these stark words I find. I'd show a smile, but I'm too weak. I'd share with you, could I only speak, Just how much this hurts me.~  
  
Dragging the blade across his right arm slowly, Ryou hissed at the pain. For him, this was his voice. Ironically, the pain only made his problems disappear for a few scant moments. As the blood seeped from the wound, he watched as it flowed down his arm and began to stain the ivory tile crimson. Just then, the doorbell rang. Through his endorphin- overloaded brain, Ryou remembered that Yugi was coming over to work on a project for school.  
  
"It's open!" he yelled with the last of his strength. As Yugi entered, Ryou's body slumped to the floor as his life's blood continued coloring the bathroom tiles.  
  
"Ryou! Ryou, are you okay?" Yugi called, concerned for his friend.  
  
~I cannot stay here, I cannot leave. Just like all I've loved, I'm make-believe. Imagined heart, I disappear. Seems no one will appear her and make me real~  
  
Ryou could hear Yugi coming up the stairs. Desperately, he looked for a towel to clean the blood from the floor.  
  
"Ryou, open up. Please?" Yugi's call got no response. Ryou, I'm coming in!"  
  
Seconds later, the door exploded. It wasn't Yugi who'd done it. The Pharaoh was standing there as it was perfectly normal that a door randomly explodes. The sight that greeted Yugi when the Pharaoh allowed him control back scared him badly. Ryou was kneeling in a pile of wooden shards and blood.  
  
Looking more pale than usual, Ryou whispered, "I'm sorry, I can't deal with him anymore."  
  
~There are no flowers, no, not this time, There will be no angels gracing the lines, Just these stark words I find. I's show a smile, but I'm too weak. I'd share with you, could I only speak, Just how much this hurts me.~  
  
Ryou looked around. He was in a hospital room and his arm was bandaged. He was also hooked up to I.V,'s.  
  
"I'm not dead." He thought with a pang of disappointment.  
  
The door opened then, and Yugi's head poked in. "You're up!"  
  
Everyone came in. Jou, Honda, Mokuba, Marik, Yugi, Yami, and even Kaiba all gave Ryou a hug, or told him they were glad he was okay. More than anything, Ryou wanted to smile at his friends, but he simply couldn't. Just then a nurse came by and shooed everyone away, the excuse being that Ryou needed his rest, and had a lot of healing to do. Everyone reluctantly left the room, promising to return in the morning.  
  
~I'd tell you how it haunts me. Cuts through my day and sinks into my dreams. You don't care that it haunts me.~  
  
That night, Bakura snuck into his host's room. "You weak human. Why did you ever think that killing yourself would free yourself from me? You're too pathetic to even commit suicide right. I get the moron who can't go about killing himself correctly, he has to go and screw that up too." Drawing a knife from his pocket, Bakura grabbed Ryou's wrist and drug the blade across it, slowly, pushing hard making a deep cut. Throwing the knife to the floor, Bakura left the room with the parting comment, "There you idiot. I've shown you how to do it, finish it."  
  
"Thinking to himself, Ryou vowed, "I'll see you in hell you demon. You've haunted me long enough."  
  
~There are no flowers, no, not this time. There will be no angels gracing the lines, Just these stark words I find. I'd show a smile, but I'm too weak. I'd share with you, could I only speak, Just how much this hurts me.~  
  
Ryou grabbed the knife from the floor. He pressed the blade to his other arm. He sliced every bit as deep as Bakura had done to him.  
  
~Just how much this hurts me.~  
  
Ryou's body began to chill and he shivered. His legs refused to hold him and he found himself on the floor. Vision dimming, he made a quick silent prayer for his friends that they would be safe, and they could enjoy life, unlike himself. Then, with his last breath, he made one final prayer. "God, I'm sorry. I couldn't deal with it. I'm coming home now."  
  
~Just how much you.~  
  
Ryou's eyes slid shut, his body gave one last rasping breath, and found the peace that he'd been dreaming of. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
Oh my god. To all the Ryou fan-girls out there, I'm sorry. I didn't want to kill him, it just kind of went that way. *Ducks flying objects* Hey, at least I got off my thing of hurting Jounouchi! Poor kid got beat up or something in every one of my fics with him.  
  
I'm not in favor of suicide or self injury. I have personal experience with SI as I've done it (and am doing it) at the present time. I do not wish this on anyone, and if you need to talk to someone, I have an excellent message board. Visit my website (es section it's called Safe Haven. Please, if you need someone to talk to, these are really good people.  
  
Anyway, please let me know what you thought of this. It's appreciated as always. 


End file.
